Wheel Alignment??

[taylortech]

I just went from my stock 16" wheels to some 22"s with 305-45-22 tires. I driving in the rain and feel the Tahoe slipping out of control. I had to do 35 mph in a 55 zone. Will a wheel alignment fix this? What does a Wheel Alignment really do? Thanks in Advance everyone.

 

[tybardy]

doesnt sound like alignment... when you are driving on a strait, dry, road and you let go of the wheel, does the car move to one direction? If so you probably need an alignment (just so you know your truck will almost always pull to the right a little bit because the roads are tilted to the right... a little bit is the key workd)

 

[jey_]

I think we need more information. When you say slipping out of control does this happen when you're accelerating? Braking? Turning? Going straight at a constant speed?

 

[taylortech]

This happens when I am going Stratight at a constant Speed and when I am Accelerating.

 

[Gordo]

souns to me like it is an alignment or balancing issue. but if it only veers off when you accelerate it might have to do with your suspension aswell.

 

[Jsho13]

Did you ever notice this with your stock rims and tires? 22"s will definately make you feel the road a bit more, it could be an alignment issue (truck pulling to one side and over correcting?) It could possibly be something with the suspension.

 

[taylortech]

could it be a wheel Bearing?

 

[metro273]

^^^No. You would hear a "whirring" sound as you drive and accelerate. When you turn left and right, the "whirring" sound would come and go also.

Don't forget, 22s have a wider track tire, so you'll be prone to moving side to side more often cause the tires wanna follow the crown or dips in the road.

 

[JennaBear]

Alignment and balance should fix you up.

 

[scott99zx6r]

Switching tires has nothing to do with alignment. You're aligning the truck doesnt matter if you go from 15's to 26's the alignment doesnt change. Sounds like a traction issue.

 

[puckhead]

Any body have issues with getting your trucks aligned and balanced? i took mine in a while back to have it balanced and aligned and they called and said I had a bad tie rod. I let them fix it and drove it to my parents house 300 miles away and it still pulled like crazy. I took it to a shop while in town and they said the other tie rod was bad. The SOB and the first shop didnt even check the other side!! Anyway they are both replaced, aligned and balanced and it still pulls pretty good. any thoughts?

 

[41racing]

It could be a bad tire even though they are new. You might want to get a "road force" balance job. The road force machine is amazing, it will tell you if a tire will cause a pull and how many pounds of force in which direction. Also on alignment, if you just put taller wider tires on I'd get it aligned. And ask them to set the camber as close to zero as they can get it. Any time you go with wider tires you need to bring the camber very close to zero. It does kind of sound like a camber issue too. Picture your stock tire sitting a 2* angle and now your much wider tire at the same angle. The stock tire is completely contacting the ground, but the wider tire is off the ground on the edge.

 

[scott99zx6r]

Road force is for vibration and straight track is for pulling problems. Easiest way is rotate or criss cross the front tires if possible ( not on directional tires ) and see if the pull goes away. Did they give you a print out of the alignment? You want camber close to zero and as close to equal as possible and caster a bit lower on the drivers side. Also check the rear readings, a shifted rear axle will give you whats called thrust angle and will make the truck pull also. You want the rear diff pointed as straight as possible.

 

[withac]

Like someone said, when checking for wheel pull there will be a slight pull to the right as the roads are crowned, so find a stretch with no one on it and straddle the center line then see if it pulls one way or the other.

Something nobody mentioned and the first thing I thought of, you say the wider tires don't feel like you have as much control in the rain, right? The wider tire is going to hydroplane (float) more than the narrower tires, could it be as simple as that?

 

[taylortech]

Found out i need Front Wheel Bearings. I hear the "whirring" sound when i put the stock wheels back on.